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A PLEA 



FOR THE 



"HONEST" USE 



OF 



GOD'S OWN DAY 



BY 



Mrs. H. a. COVERT. 




A PLEA 



FOR THE 



"HONEST" USE 



OF 



aOD'S OWN DAY 



*' He calls the hours His own ; 
Let Heaven rejoice, let Earth be glad, 
And ' Praise ' surround the Throne." 

" Hosanna ! 
In the highest strains 
The Church on earth can raise ! 
The highest heavens in which He reigns 
Shall give Him nobler praise." 



" He rules the world with truth and grace, 
And makes the nations prove 
The glories of His righteousness 
And wonders of His love." 



BY f 



Mrs. H. a. COVERT. 






i 



u / 



NEW YORK: 
WARD <& DRUIVIIVIONE), 

711 BROADWAY. 



\^'-A\ ,-V" 







COPYRIGHT, 1894, BY 

H. A. Covert. 



<. ., ^; 



PRESS OF 
EDWARD O. JENKINS' SON , 
NEW YORK, 



A PLEA FOR THE "HONEST" USE 
OF GOD^S OWN DAY. 

This "Plea" was compiled by one who was 
influenced to try in this way, although feeling 
incapable (yet urged by the strongest of desires) 
to rescue God's Holy Day from the thraldom of 
sin and worldliness, which robbeth God, and is 
done through inconsideration, and through the 
instrumentality of the Devil, and his legions of 
angels. 

I would ask in hopeful spirit, the pardon of 
the talented Christian writers, whose quota- 
tions, I fear, have been distorted in this pam- 
phlet, by my non-experience at writing in form 
for publication; these " friends " may rest assur- 
ed that I grasped their hand in the spirit of joy- 
ous fellowship, as it were inveigling myself into 
companionship, because I felt that their hearts 
would respond to this attempt of a Soldier of 
the Cross to drive back the "hostile foe of man- 
kind," and stand in defense of God's memorial 
monument of mercy, erected before the spirit 
of the "arch-fiend" saddened our gloriously 

(3) 



4 A PLEA FOR THE 

beautiful earth ; the significance of this " Me- 
morial/' through Christ, being so vast, that we 
would daily hold it a high privilege and holy- 
duty to defend and keep it, in its pristine efful- 
gence and extreme loveliness ; then, will our 
Faith reveal unto us more effulgently the 
^' Halo of glory '* which surmounts (through 
God's love for mankind) the fundamental man- 
ifesto borne upon our nation's coin — viz., "In 
God we trust " ; in trusting let us venture to 
keep "God's Memorial Day" holily, leaving the 
issue of our efforts with Him ; then will, also, 
our Sabbath hymns, fragrant with the memory 
of martyrs, float around our battlements, a bet- 
ter safeguard than thousands of ordnance ! 

The day has made us, and it has made us for 
a witness; let the testimony be given and what 
a power shall be in it ; " the busiest nation on 
earth resting on God's day, the Sabbath " ! 
" The freest nation binding itself on that day 
by the restraints of God's safe Law ! " 

"A nation, made of all the nations, testing 
the truth and proclaiming it — that the way to 
knowledge and wealth of character, to lawful 
power, liberty, virtue, and domestic blessings, 
as well as to true religion and the hope of glory, 
is led by God in the light of His Sabbath." " It 
is true ! Let the world hear it, and from us ! " 

" It is the day announcing His Son, — be 
thankful for it then and keep it holy," for holy 



HONEST '' USE OF GOD'S OWN DAY 



IS its Owner ! " What a wealth of blessing, 
what immensity of power is bound up within 
it; ** may these not, I would ask, be compared to 
a sheaf of perfectly matured grain representing 
six days' mercies and joys, developing moments 
of ecstatic happiness, all bound round about by 
this all-supporting band, namely, the Sabbath ; 
bound by the Hand of the beneficent Husband- 
man and Triune God, conveyed by that Hand 
unto us, for acceptance, for the nourishment (of 
a true life) such as cloyeth not, but satisfieth, 
*' even to the uttermost '* ? 

A PERSONAL NOTE. 

Since all Christians are one, in the common 
Brotherhood of Christ, I will offer this remark ; 
that I honestly believe that, no matter what our 
outward circumstances may be throughout our 
lives, be we weakly, poor, or rich, we can and 
WILL have happy hearts — which all will acknowl- 
edge to be the daily desideratum — if we bear in 
mind the ideal truth, that God has commanded 
us to '* Remember the Sabbath Day to keep it 
holy;" first, "By the assembling of ourselves 
together" for holy worship; secondly, by medi- 
tation on things divine, by charitable feelings, 
and holy intercourse with all; seeking the com- 
panionship of God and His benediction for our 
dear ones, ourselves, our country, and fellow- 
men of all climes, praying for ever-increasing 



6 A PLEA FOR THE 

faith and "growth in the grace and knowledge 
of our Lord and Master Jesus Christ/* *' whom 
to know and make known is the summit of life/' 
saith an eminent divine ; thirdly, asking, with 
hearts aglow with gratitude, for earthly and 
spiritual benefits ; aglow with the bright hope 
attendant upon implicit confidence : and doing 
ONLY works of necessity and mercy ! 

Would also say, that I honestly believe if we 
do contrariwise, we will and shall have hearts 
wherein dwelleth unhappiness (meaning un- 
rest) and our lives prove a failure and a curse, 
because of our failure to acknowledge and sub- 
mit to God's sanctification of the Sabbath or 
Lord's day unto Himself, who is, in view of our 
never-ending obligations unto Him as a Bene- 
factor, a justly "Jealous God"; He, meriting 
our fervent love, is not unrighteously jealous, 
being the Sustainer as well as Creator of man- 
kind, of "Heaven, earth, and all that in them 



is." 



" All hail ! Sabbath ! 
Most calm, most bright, 
Dark were each week 
But for thy light." 

I love to think of Sunday in its close connec- 
tion with the " Sun of Righteousness," and in its 
relations to the Lord of Life and Light coming 
forth conqueror (of death and the nightly shades 
pf the tomb, radiant with a halo of love and 



honest'* use of god's own day 



glory), rejoicing with mankind over the incom- 
parable victory ; and O ! how sublime was 
Mary Magdalene's recognition of the " Master *' ; 
was it not the portraiture of a heart filled with 
a peace indescribable ? I love the echo which 
has ever since rolled down ** the Ages " from her 
voice, filled as it was with affection's fire 
breathed forth in the appellation, — "Master ! " 

We are told, that Napoleon of the French 
Empire, when in the height of his prosperity, 
surrounded by a brilliant company of the mar- 
shals and courtiers of the empire, was asked 
" what day he considered to have been the hap- 
piest of his life," — and when all expected that 
he would name the occasion of some glorious vic- 
tory or some great political triumph, some august 
celebration or other signal recognition of his 
genius or power, he answered, without a mo- 
ment's hesitation, " The happiest day of my life 
was the day of my first communion ! " an answer 
fragrant with heavenly incense, bearing witness 
to the source of realistic happiness, the road- 
way to which is a holy keeping of the Lord's 
Day ; leading unto Christ Jesus the gate-way 
of the God-given domain of eternal mansions 
in that " Land of peace wherein no surgings of 
sin disturb the invigorating calm of heaven's 
ocean of Love." 

"Yes, the Lord's day, with its communion 
with God, its memorials, its exercises, instruc- 



8 A PLEA FOR THE 

tions, and social church intercourse, ever as it 
returns, gives a fresh impulse to human ad- 
vancement '* ; it is truly a fountain whence 
spring innumerable benefits : ^* Whosoever will, 
let him take from life's fountain freely,*' which 
will most assuredly refresh and invigorate us 
with an abiding strength ! 

"Judge not the Lord by feeble sense, but 
trust Him for His Word and Name*s-sake, for 
is He not Jehovah ? God of might ? Yea, ver- 
ily ! " 

" I sit within my room and joy to find 
That Thou, who always lovest, art with me here ; 
That I am never left by Thee behind 
But by Thyself, Thou keep'st me ever near : 
The fire burns brighter, when with Thee I look — 
And seems a kinder Servant sent to me ; 
With gladder eyes, I read Thy Holy Book, 
Because Thou art the eyes by which I see." 

Thou, O Christ ! who didst bring the gift of 
spiritual light, art in very truth the " Light of 
the world,"— our spirits, blessed God, bear testi- 
mony unto this veritable fact ; and our daily 
privilege vouchsafed, is, to walk in the "light 
of Thy countenance" and approving smile, for 
art Thou not declared to be our righteousness, 
sanctification, and ever-present joy ? 



'' honest" use of god's own day 



** For who believes, clouds cannot make afraid ; 
We know — the Sun of Righteousness doth shine be- 
hind the shade 
And ride at anchor through the gales." 

"Our God, forever/' 
" This God is the God we adore, 
Our faithful, unchangeable Friend, 
Whose love is as large as His power, 
And neither know measure, nor end ; 
Tis Jesus, the first and the last. 
Whose spirit shall guide us safe home ; 
We'll praise Him for all that is past, 
And trust Him for all that's to come." 

And when faith betimes reaches its mountain- 
height possibilities, we with prospective joy 
shall individually and as one august body sing : 

*' Home at last on Heavenly Mountains ; 
Heard the * Come and enter in ' ; 
Saved by life's fair flowing fountains — 
Saved from earthly taint and sin : 
Home, sweet home, our home forever, 
All the pilgrim journey past ; 
Welcome home to wander never. 
Saved through Jesus ; home at last." 

Let us, — imbibing the spirit of grace which 
imbued the heart of Napoleon in the partaking 
of his "first communion feast" with his Sav- 
iour, Redeemer, Benefactor, and Maker, — be per- 
sistent in the habit of "assembling ourselves 



lO A PLEA FOR THE 

together'* (when able physically so to do) to 
hold grateful communion of spirit with Him, 
who is the Alpha and Omega, in some one of 
the many *' temples of worship '' : for any per- 
son who voluntarily neglects public worship to 
find '* sermons in stones, and books in running 
brooks/* " sets out in defiance of God's ex- 
pressed will concerning us His creatures, and 
only pretends to honor His Day " : find the 
divine mandate in Exodus xxxi. 13, 14, 15, 
"Verily, my Sabbaths ye shall keep ; for it is a 
sign between me and you throughout your gen- 
erations ; that ye may know, that I am the 
Lord who doth sanctify you." " Ye shall keep 
it therefore, for it is Holy unto you"; observe 
also the assertion of verse 15, "Holy unto the 
Lord." Reader, behold here our close connec- 
tion with God, /. e., the Day, holy unto God, and 
holy unto us ! Are we not also called "joint- 
heirs with Christ " ? through the grace of our 
Mediator and Elder Brother? heirs of the 
Father ? Answer : It is so declared by the 
King of kings in His holy record, will, and tes- 
tament. 

In order to use our influence on every Sab- 
bath as regards carrying burdens of worldly 
anxiety on this "day of the Lord of lords and 
King of kings," let us give answer to ourselves 
and others as follows : 

First, this is not a day wherein anxiety on the 



''HONEST USE OF GODS OWN DAY II 

"score of business'* shall find place in my 
thoughts ; I will the rather seek after the heav- 
enly kingdom, assured by Scripture promises 
that the provision for bodily necessities " shall 
be added thereunto." We must remember, this 
is not a day wherein to redress business griev- 
ances. 

Secondly, this our high privilege it is, to have 
divested ourselves of every burden of mind be- 
fore the dawn of this, our King's festal day. 

Thirdly, this high privilege is also a bounden 
duty and just requirement, before reaching our 
King's highway (the table-lands of the ages 
found at the terminus of every sixth-day jour- 
ney along our mountain-road of high privileges) 
— where naught that is cumbersome is permis- 
sible. 

The First Sabbath — on the evening preceding 
it '' God saw everything that He had made, and 
behold it, was very good " (Gen. i. 31) ; " and the 
evening and the morning were the sixth day." 
"Thus the Heavens and the Earth were fin- 
ished, and all the host of them." "And on the 
Seventh day "—that Perfect Sabbath— '^' God 
ended His work which He had made," and 
rested. 

"And God blessed the Seventh day and sanc- 
tified it, because that in it He had rested from 
all His work which God created and made" 
(Gen. ii. i, 2, 3). 



12 A PLEA FOR THE 

Sanctified ! the very First Sabbath ! ! ! Ec- 
static clarion note, chime on, on, on, pealing 
forth thy soul-inspiring melody ! while we as 
Christian nations in adoration chant the glad 
refrain of, " God blessed and sa7ictified the Sab- 
bath ''—the Holy Rest-Day. 

O ! most vividly doth the imagination por- 
tray to the eye of Faith a reign of perfect sub- 
limity, — a period of untarnished holiness, during 
that wondrously, magnificently perfect day ; 
the first Sabbath ; so also — 

Through Christ's redemptive grace, doth the 
mind grasp and portray, in tints exquisitely 
beauteous, the great possibility of attaining 
unto a "True Sabbath" even nov/ ! in the en- 
joyments attached to the church-life — and 
through its teachings, both to individuals and 
the whole body of true worshippers. 

"A True Sabbath is just as gloomy as is true 
Piety" — just as gloomy as a heart can be, that 
is at peace with God, and assured of Heaven, 
that hears the voice of a loving Father in mercy, 
and sees His hand in all His works ; it is true, 
that with all this experience of faith and joy in 
the Sabbath, are mingled our repentance and 
confession of sin— and prayers for pardon (for 
there is the taint of sin pervading our best 
works), and for a deliverance from the Satanic 
power of sin ; but the Sabbath does not make 
the sins nor the sorrows ; it only supplies, as it 



^^ honest'' use of god's own day 13 

were, a more abundant fulness of time to carry 
them to a compassionate Saviour, there to be 
u^nburdened by Him, who is our sole deliverer, 
and sure hope, who delights in assuring us that 
*^our sins are forgiven us," to "go in peace and 
sin no more,'* willingly : the highest pitch of 
ecstasy is Just here, where godly sorrow is turned 
into joy, or a happy life, but the sorrow of 
the world, without God's presence, " worketh 
death ! " verily ! 

Would that all those who hate or dread what 
they call the restrictions of this day — of soul- 
cheering elements — would try to take, and 
have, a fair, unprejudiced experience of its solid 
delights ! What unknown refreshment ! what 
expansion of the delights of heart, soul, and 
mind — what flashings of Heaven's own light, 
to brighten the " Spark of holiness and hope ! " 
wherewith the great Giver hath blessed our life, 
viz.: **The seed of the woman shall bruise tho, 
serpent's head ": this day should lie across their 
rough and shaded pathway like a gleam of sun- 
shine "upon green pastures and still waters." 
"Men would find themselves, to speak illustra- 
tively clear, in a new world of happy feeling, if 
every week were allowed— by us through yield- 
ing to the promptings of the Holy Spirit — to 
encircle itself with this belt of heavenly light " ! 

" Parents ! try to enkindle a hearty love in the 
hearts of your children for the spiritual uses of 



14 A PLEA FOR THE 

the Day '* ; " reverence that day, as an Institu- 
tion of God *' ! " God's command and our ad- 
vantage unite in making the whole of the Sab- 
bath sacred — be careful, therefore, to subordi- 
nate all entertainment to the holy uses of the 
day, not the day to mere entertainment": '^ the 
Fountain that should water your garden, par- 
ents, bubbles high up upon the hillside ; lead 
the stream, and let it flow aright!" — "open 
your lips ! and utter things divine among your 
children and home-guard, you are to be the 
light of your dwelling" — remember daily that 
your family are to live, not by bread and ap- 
parel simply, but " by every word that pro- 
ceedeth out of the mouth of God." Remind 
them also that " every good and every perfect 
gift cometh down from above, from the Father 
of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither 
shadow of turning." " He remaineth faithful." 
"His mercies are new every morning." 

A SUNDAY morning's ANTHEM. 

Our Heavenly Father, we Thy young children 
— for unto Thee the years are but an hand's- 
breadth — in the delightsomeness of love and of 
child-like confidence, would at the dawning of 
Thine every holy day, plunge into the soft bil- 
lows of the great ocean of Thy love, there to be 
cleansed, strengthened, refreshed ; thanking 
Thee for this source of happiness, this high 



"HONEST USE OF GODS OWN DAY 1$ 

privilege, O, our true benefactor, true friend, 
and generous provider of bread for both body 
and soul. Amen. 

Methinks the material and spiritual life com- 
bined in us as individuals may be termed a 
gloriously grand poem, from God's own mind 
and heart, whose hand alone could, and did 
make of it, a panoramic reality of stupendous 
proportions, which "through richness of grace 
in Christ Jesus,'* has for grand finale, faith's 
realization of eternity's glories. 

The creation of the material world calls forth 
from mind and heart wondering admiration, 
praise, and love. The re-creation of man from 
his fallen state of sinfulness through the first 
parents ; to the prospect and possibility of a 
return to holiness with its attendant happiness, 
through Christ " our righteousness," " Paschal 
Lamb," and Mediator between man the offender 
and an offended God, who is justly indignant, 
because all unholiness is an abomination unto 
Him ; this, our " return " into His favor, surely 
calls forth grateful adoration, praises, and deep, 
abiding love for the Maker, the donor of " sal- 
vation's well " of inexhaustible supplies of grace 
and mercy ; He whom it is that stampeth with 
perfection's seal the ever-varying phases of life 
in the spiritual and material world. 

Let us not leave our present stand-point with- 
out embracing through the Spirit's illumination 



l6 A PLEA FOR THE 

the wondrous combination of beauty revealed 
in Ex. xxxiii., beginning at verse 7, on through 
this thirty-third chapter ; I would suggest that 
we all read it, tliereby entering upon an atmos- 
phere truly sublime; and may we not, in this 
our nineteenth century, in grateful, humble rec- 
ognition of the marvellous successes wrought 
out by the combined "forces" of science and 
religion in this and various nations, behold the 
Lord passing before us in His glory. Ex. xxxiii. 
21, 22: **And the Lord said, Behold there is a 
place by me, and thou shalt stand upon a rock; 
and it shall come to pass while my glory pass- 
eth by, that I will put thee in a cleft of the 
rock ** — a good foothold and place of safety at 
the Lord's side through all righteous endeavors, 
assured: "Let him that glorieth, glory in this, 
that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I 
am the Lord that exerciseth loving-kindness in 
the earth/' The Lord, " who is the wisdom of 
the truly wise-hearted." " My presence shall go 
with thee, and I will give thee rest " — the rest 
of confidence and the inspiration of hope. 

Isa. Ixvi.: " Neither let the son of the stranger 
that hath joined himself to the Lord speak, 
saying, The Lord hath utterly separated me 
from His people, for thus saith the Lord, Them 
that keep my Sabbaths and choose the things 
that please me, and take hold of my covenant, 
even unto them will I give in mine house and 



>» TT/-,-r-. ,^-r^ ^^^T~.y 



*' HONEST USE OF GODS OWN DAY ly 

within my walls a place, and a name better 
than of sons and daughters ; I will give them 
an everlasting name that shall not be cut off." 

Having acknowledged the proximity of Sci- 
ence to Religion, just here will we as mankind 
take up and resound the echo of gladsome 
sound, which is rung out by our ^^ nation's coin " 
wherever looked upon — '^ In God we trust'* — 
the very metals from the earth's depths, render- 
ing, through the instrumentality of science, 
homage unto God the Maker in one harmo- 
nious chord of recognition, melodious with 
praise ; Science holding up to view the beauties 
of the material world, the mystical powers of 
God's creative hand; Religion holding out the 
hand of recognition and of grateful acceptance 
of the never-failing, never-dying love and as- 
sistance of the All-wise and glorious Maker, 
Benefactor, and holy Lord God Almighty. 

" Praise God, from whom a/l blessings flow, 
Praise Him all creatures — and all created things — 

here below ; 
Praise Him above, ye heavenly host. 
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost." 

" Life, like a fountain rich and free. 
Springs from the presence of the Lord ; 
And in His light our souls shall see 
The blessings promised in His Word ! " 



1 8 A PLEA FOR THE 

In order that we may know that it is the Lord 
who doth sanctify us, we need to keep holy His 
day ; this knowledge appearing in the light re- 
flected by Holy Writ, is conditional, — in obedi- 
ence to the Fourth Commandment. Let us also 
take observation of another illuminated fact, 
recorded in Genesis ii. i8, 25, which is the "in- 
stitution of holy matrimony," and which lies in 
closest connection with the " institution of the 
Holy Sabbath,*' indeed so closely as to be seen 
in its " wake '* in the decrees of our holy God, 
both the "institutions" being sanctified by 
Him ; whenever, therefore, perusing and view- 
ing through faith the act of God's blessing the 
Sabbath — making it holy — we may and should, 
by aid of the same holy light, behold God hal- 
lowing of matrimony, affixing His own seal, 
that of the " King of kings," unto both the in- 
stitutions. 

Unto Jeremiah the Lord said, " Go and stand 
in the gate of the children of the people, and in 
all the gates y and say unto them, Hear ye the 
word of the Lord, ye kings of Judah and all 
Judah, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, 
that enter in by these gates ; thus saith the 
Lord, Take heed to yourselves and bear no bur- 
den on the Sabbath day, nor bring it in by the 
gates ; neither carry forth a burden out of your 
houses on the Sabbath day, but hallow ye the 
Sabbath, as I commanded your fathers." 

An outspoken " desire " of the " many " dur- 



'' HONEST '' USE OF GOD S OWN DAY 19 

ing our World's Fair was intensely mine also, — 
O ! joy ! to hear the voice of Christians en masse 
from the gates of our " Columbian Exposition," 
— this our international manifestation of honest 
pride and rejoicing from the heart of a grateful 
nation — declares, that the gates of our Exhibi- 
tion should be closed on each Lord's Day ; we 
would gladly assemble in the courts of the Lord 
instead, there to do Him honor in the way of 
His own appointment. Furthermore, a warn- 
ing was given unto Jeremiah at that same visita- 
tion from Jehovah, in the words of verse twenty- 
seven, chapter seventeen, of Jeremiah the 
Prophet, viz. : "But if ye will not hearken unto 
me to hallow the Sabbath day, and not to bear 
a burden, even entering in at the gates of Jeru- 
salem on the Sabbath day ; then will I kindle a 
fire in the gates thereof, and it shall devour the 
palaces of Jerusalem, and it shall not be 
quenched." 

At this moment, as part and parcel of the de- 
sire given expression to, previous to the *^ warn- 
ing " sounded by Jeremiah, let us elucidate 
by quoting a declaration of Jehovah, made 
through His servant Isaiah the Prophet, in 
the words of verse thirteen, chapter fifty- 
eight, viz., "and shalt honour Him, not doing 
thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleas- 
ure"; "the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it." 
Psa. xii. 6 : " The ^ Words ' of the Lord are 



20 A PLEA FOR THE 

pure words ; as silver tried in a furnace of 
earth, purified seven times." 

M. S. Wright thus beautifully renders, through 
flow of cultured mind, a lovely glimpse of *^ Sun- 
day Morning *': 

" Sweet Sunday Morning comes like a fair Dove, flying 
from Heaven, 
Beneath whose snowy wings enfolded, is a * message' 

full of love ; 
To hearts earth-weary, news of heavenly things ; 
And when, with wings by solemn sunset dyed, 
Back into Heaven's keeping flies the day. 
May the sweet * message ' still abide 
And guide and brighten all our earthly way." 

While bearing upon the soul's tablet the im- 
press of the ^^ Sweet Sunday Morning message " 
of Heaven's love for all mankind, gladly would 
we surrender to the infatuation of offered 
"promises" for obedience, with which the 
twenty-eighth chapter of Deuteronomy is teem- 
ing in fourteen of its verses : and how truth- 
fully is rendered through Isaiah, " I, even I, am 
he that comforteth you," saith the Lord ; and 
how "just" the query which follows: "Who 
art thou, that thou shouldst be afraid of a man, 
that shall die, and forgettest the Lord thy 
Maker, that hast stretched forth the heavens 
and laid the foundations of the earth, the all- 
mighty One?" remember, "the fear of man 
bringeth a snare." But we must return to the 



"honest'* use of god's own day 21 

twenty-eighth chapter of Deuteronomy and 
consider the warning, ^*But it shall come to 
pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of 
the Lord thy God, all these curses shall come 
upon thee, and overtake thee " ; these curses 
are given in this same twenty-eighth chapter. 

The selfsame day upon which Moses died, on 
Mount Nebo in the land of Moab, Moses said 
unto God's people, '' Set your hearts unto all 
the words w^hich I testify among you this day, 
which ye shall command your children to ob- 
serve to do all the words of this law ; for it is 
not a vain thing for you, because it is your life ; 
and through this thing ye shall prolong your 
days in the land which ye go over Jordan to 
possess it.'* 

" Through the rocky wilderness 
Will the Saviour lead us on — 
To the land we shall possess. 

Over Jordan. 
Yes, by night the wondrous ray, 
Cloudy pillar by the day, 
They shall guide us on our way, 

Over Jordan. 
With His strong and mighty hand 
Will the Saviour lead us on 
To that good and pleasant Land, 

Over Jordan. 
Yes ! where vine and olive grow, 
And the brooks and fountains flow : 
Thirst nor hunger shall we know — 

Over Jordan. 



22 A PLEA FOR THE 

Then we'll rest our weary feet, 
By the crystal * waters ' sweet, 
When that ' peaceful ' land we greet, 
Over Jordan," 

Through Moses, the leader, was the demand 
made by God of His people, " Verily ! ye shall 
keep my Sabbaths/' This demand followed 
immediately the directions given by God for 
the compounding of the holy oil for the an- 
ointing of the priests for the tabernacle : this 
demand, *^ Verily, my Sabbaths ye shall keep,*' 
was made before the "two tables of the Com- 
mandments were received by Moses the first 
time; however, their God had verbally delivered 
the Commandments unto them from Mount Si- 
nai, amid thunderings and lightnings ; even at 
this " First " delivering of the Fourth Command- 
ment, it was in the language of a simple re- 
minder ; it was an ancient custom kept by God 
Himself, at the ending of creation's work — a 
hallowed, unselfish rest of rejoicing over a full 
completion of the universe and its mighty ma- 
chinery ; of rejoicing with love over the bring- 
ing unto perfection of His masterpiece — Man — 
wrought in body and in spirit, capable of living 
through time and through eternity unto the 
honor and great praise of his Maker; of rejoic- 
ing in the spirit of true benevolence over the 
vast resources of mother earth — comprising the 
animate and inanimate — for the use of man and 



>> ^^_.^ _.^ ^^-,-~.> 



** HONEST USE OF GODS OWN DAY 23 

woman, the privilege being vouchsafed unto 
them of subduing these stupendous forces unto 
an honest use, for their happiness and instruc- 
tion in wisdom, which is the higher order of 
happiness, and another immeasurable gift of 
God ; unto our Benefactor is due unremitting 
praise for benefits innumerable ; have we not 
also, in that name " Immanuel," received the 
promise of the immediate presence of His 
Spirit within and among us ? 

" Welcome now the blessed day 
When we praise the Lord our King ; 
When we meet to praise and pray, 
And His love with gladness sing ; 
Let the world take up the story, 
Christ has come the Prince of glory, 
Come in humble hearts to dwell, 

God with us, 

Immanuel ! " 

^' The Sabbath " was awarded the pre-emi- 
nence among the " feasts of the Lord,** by God 
Himself, as shown in Leviticus xxiii. i, 2, 3. 

In Deuteronomy xxix. Moses exhorteth the 
people to obedience, by the memory of the 
works they have seen and received benefit from; 
should pay for all with love. Deut. xxix. 18 : 
"Great wrath on him that flattereth himself in 
his wickedness,'* "say not, I shall have peace, 
though I walk in the imagination of mine heart ; 



24 A PLEA FOR THE 

to add drunkenness to thirst : heretofore ye 
have drunk neither wine, nor strong drink." 

Glad am I to make assertion here, in favor of 
the proofs given in Scripture, that strong wine 
is pernicious — we must beware of the wine that 
moveth itself aright, because that is the fer- 
mented kind, bearing within itself the seeds of 
destruction, which surely do "sting like an ad- 
der''; and gives constant proof among men, 
that in very truth it "is a mocker,'' enslaving 
us with its inexorable bands, only to hold us 
in derision for being weak-minded enough to 
succumb ; men, through a profound study of 
Scripture, can now bring every needed proof 
that there are two kinds of wine alluded to in 
Scripture, viz., the pernicious or fermented 
wine ; and the healthful, unfermented juice of 
the fruit, the new wine, which is harmless. 

Returning from this digression, I would fol- 
low the example of Moses, whom we know was 
directed by God as to his doings, and the words 
which he spake ; Moses exhorted that we com- 
mand our children to observe to do all which 
pertaineth to God's will, which he declares to 
be, as it were, our life ; and another Christian, 
under inspiration charges us that we " Warn 
our family of the doom that awaits the trans- 
gressor of the just demands which an obser- 
vance of an Holy Sabbath make upon man- 
kind"; namely, " Justice to God ; justice unto 



»» rrr^-r-y ^ t^ ^ ^ t-x > 



'' HONEST USE OF GOD S OWN DAY 2$ 

Man as regards his spiritual welfare ; justice, 
through such an observance of it, which re- 
doundeth also unto man's bodily welfare. 
Again, be not moved except to pity, by those 
who make a mock at the sin of misspending 
holy time ; their fo/fy surpasses all names of 
madness. 

" Two things will probably have a keener 
edge in wounding the lost soul than all others, 
namely, ^Christ rejected,* and the remorse of 
having misspent holy time ; write, then, on the 
whole of your domestic economy, this : Sunday 
is the holy day from the Holy God ; keep it 
holy from secularities ; He set it apart from 
secularities on the completion of the Work of 
Creation ; He gives us six days successively, 
and He requires justly our immediate presence, 
and service of gratitude on every seventh day ; 
if ye will sanctify the Lord's Day in your hearts 
and lives, ye shall know, that in keeping this 
Command of God, there is great reward. How 
immeasurably great are the height, depth, 
length, and breadth of this ^ donation ' unto Man! 

"In the wording of this Fourth Command, a 
more full explanation of its true intent is given 
than in any other command ; it is enacted both 
positively and negatively ; positively, ^Remem- 
ber the Sabbath Day to keep it holy'; nega- 
tively, ^in it thou shalt not do any manner of 
work'; none other precept of the decalogue is 



26 A PLEA FOR THE 

given in both these forms, although every fair 
rule of interpreting them requires that when 
they enjoin a duty, we should regard them as 
forbidding the contrary sin, and, when they for- 
bid a sin, we should regard them as enjoining 
the contrary duty ; yet in this command, but in 
no other, both forms are used ; this Fourth 
Command is also introduced as no other is ; the 
first word is a solemn memento, namely, ^ Re- 
member,' and is not found elsewhere in the de- 
calogue ! 

" Not only are men addressed in the singular, 
but the ^ heads of families/ both sexes of chil- 
dren, both sexes of servants ; also the * cattle ' 
and ^stranger': no such particularity is found 
in any other precept of either * Table of the 
Law/ 

" Reflect ! teaching by example is the highest 
kind of instruction, — well, God, on the comple- 
tion of the creation, as previously specified in 
this pamphlet, set us the example of a holy, 
happy ^ Rest ' from secular works. He set this 
apart, as a season for more especially-manifest 
love to God the Creator and Benefactor, also love 
for the souls and the alleviation of the bodily 
pains among our fellow-men : ^ not for a selfish 
rest'; 'it is not to be spent idly,' which would 
be selfish ; true, we are released from the labors 
and concerns of the week, but it is with the 
high privilege and glorious duty engaging in 



'* HONEST" USE OF GODS OWN DAY 2/ 

the acquisition of the more substantial riches! 
Turn every six days* work over to God for the 
seal of His blessing ; carry no burden in a man- 
ual way, neither mentally, during the *holy rest 
season ' of twenty-four hours* occupancy. 

'^Personally, ^in God's name,' interpose the 
God-given authority, both by example and pre- 
cept, those of you who are parents, teachers, or 
it may be in a somewhat less demonstrative 
walk in life ; nevertheless, we, every individual, 
carry a weight of influence — for good or for evil — 
every day ! to you the community have a right to 
look ior your ^^/^ in the way of moral restraint/' 

In Nehemiah ix.: " The Levites make a relig- 
ious confession of God's goodness and their 
wickedness"; at this time, " they acknowledge, 
as a blessed thing, the bestowment of the holy 
day of the Lord God." 

" O day of rest and gladness, 

O day of joy and light, 

O balm of care and sadness, 

Most beautiful, most bright — 

On thee the high and lowly, 

Through * Ages * joined in tune. 

Sing Holy, Holy, Holy to the great God Triune. 
" To-day on weary nations 

The heavenly manna falls ; 

To holy convocation 

The silver trumpet calls, 

Where Gospel-light is flowing 

With soul-refreshing streams," 



28 A PLEA FOR THE 

O yes, most refreshing and kindly doth faith's 
eye depict the "halo'' of Heaven's coronet of 
gold-glistening mercies, spanning thine every 
"Twenty-four-hour reign," O, thou day of rest 
and gladness, thou day of the Christ Divine. 

" Thus saith the Lord, Blessed is the man Vv^ho 
trusteth in the Lord and whose hope the Lord 
is, for he shall be as a tree by the waters, and 
that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and 
shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf 
shall be green ; and shall not be careful in the 
time of drought, neither shall cease from yielding 
fruit" (Jer. xvii. 5). Saith the Lord, "But 
cursed is the man whose heart departeth from 
the Lord ; and trusteth to the arm of flesh." 

" The Sabbath hath a flood of Wisdom's light 
to bestow upon every seeker for light"; it is a 
wide-open approach unto the golden harvest- 
fields of matured wisdom, entering which, faith 
hath an undimmed view of Christ, who is the 
door by which v/e may enter the inexhaustible 
granary, viz.^ the Bible, for the all-sustaining 
food therein obtainable, " without money and 
without price"; let us not barter this "angel's 
food" for a "mess of pottage"; let us, the 
rather, cling tenaciously to the "combination 
all-^supporting staff," namely, Bible, Sabbath ; 
discarding with God-given wisdom the non- 
supporting reed, which is the only staff that our 
would-be master, the devil, has to offer, and 



a 



HONEST USE OF GODS OWN DAY 29 



which he daily strives to have every individual 
accept and lean upon, which at every hour of 
need would give wa}", causing a fall down the 
precipice of woe for time and for eternity — a 
downfall into the regions of remorse and the 
darkness of utter despair ; not like unto the 
darkness of our starless and moonless nights, 
methinks, — oh, no ! these our earthly nights, 
though darksome to a degree, yet are they ever 
brightened by Hope's rays of peace, shed 
through the Christ-heraldic star ; " thanks we 
give and adoration '*; ^^ miracles of grace" 
would we acknowledge ourselves to be; debtors, 
indeed, unto the great overruling Author of the 
Bible and instigator of the Sabbath, — for this 
soul-cheering ray, viz.: Hope's ray of peace, 
even in sorrow's night. 

Yes ! surely, hath the Sabbath " a flood of 
light to bestow!" in its golden opportunities. 
And what is it that the Rev. T. De Witt Tal- 
mage, the great Bible lover, gives us, in the 
Christian Herald^ or Signs of our Times ^ of which 
he is the editor? Why, a most lovely portrayal 
of the ^^ Sunshine of Religion." May God bless 
him for it, beyond measure ; this sermon, on 
the above-named topic, may be found in the 
paper dated Feb. i, 1893, the text being Prov. 
iii, 17, ** Her ways are ways of pleasantness." 

Permit me to infer, that one would feel repaid 
also for reading in the Christian Herald^ bear- 



30 A PLEA FOR THE 

ing date Jan. 25, 1893, the poem, entitled "Won- 
derful Love," — a grateful acknowledgment, a 
sounding forth, through winter*s vicissitudes, of 
the glowing warmth afforded at our Heavenly 
Father's hearthstone of love, the Bible. I count 
the poem worthy of thanks ; we are indebted 
to F. W. A. Grain for the same ; this, his rhyme 
of four verses, begins : 

" Wonderful things in this Bible are told, 
Wonderful things that never grow old ; 
Wonderful story of God's love for all, 
Wonderful love in the Saviour's call." 

We quote, that "An open Bible means an 
open Heaven." Among the numerous names 
applied to the Word of God we find, " The fear 
of the Lord "; this name inspires reverence for 
its Author and a wholesome apprehension of 
the consequences of a participation in sin ; the 
epithet is clean ; no contamination, no "taint" 
of any kind mars its matchless beauty, and its 
effect is an endless life and influence : " the only 
abiding things are the pure, and right, and just; 
all bad things must eventually be eliminated 
from the universe": "our bad habits prevent 
the ringing utterance of love to Christ," discard 
them ! and, saith Holy Writ, " sow not to the 
flesh." 

From the mind of Canon Farrar we have 
the beautiful thought, viz.: 



''honest'' use of god's own day 31 

" A healthful soul, a tranquil mind, 
A temper sweet, a heart refined. 
High thoughts, that peace and joy bestow ; 
All these from temperate living flow." 

We are told "the Holy Spirit is supplement- 
ary to the Bible"; hence, our Lord could say, 
'* My words they are spirit, they are life " ! He 
who is the Wonderful, the Counsellor, the 
Mighty God, the Prince of Peace ; He who ad- 
vises that we take His yoke upon us : this is 
not a "yoke of iron " (Deut. xxviii. 48) ; oh, no; 
His is that '^easy yoke "; His is the "burden" 
which "is light," through "grace": and His 
"mission" bore the grand design of the possi- 
bility of the righteousness of the Law being 
fulfilled in us, — first, by our abiding in the 
"true vine," Christ Jesus, who hath dominion 
over sin ; secondly, by our striving through 
faith and importunate prayer to abide in His 
love ; lastly, by seeking to be clothed with the 
"whole armor" of God ; for God sent His Son 
in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, that 
the power of sin being broken, grace riding 
conqueror over it, through Christ the great con- 
quering Captain of our salvation, we, following 
closely as armor-bearers and recruits who have 
cheerfully enlisted, under the orders to abide 
by Heaven's discipline, and to protect the flag 
of the heavenly country, which is the banner of 



32 A PLEA FOR THE 

Love, which floateth over each and every king- 
dom whose watch-word is Peace. 

Saith the Prince of Peace, the King of kings, 
from whose domain are constantly wafted the 
zephyr-like atmosphere, "peace"; "be ye 
holy," and receive of "my peace"; "the wages 
of sin," they are not peace, but are verily death 
and misery! Christ, our Holy Prince and Holy 
Sacrifice, with pierced hands holds forth His 
peace-giving Document, causes it to glisten 
with dew-drop transparency and purity, making 
manifest its import — giveth voice, as well, to 
the words of its Author, as follows : " I have 
sanctified myself, that ye also might be sancti- 
fied through the truth." "Father,! in them 
and Thou in me, that the world may know that 
Thou hast sent me, and hast loved them as 
Thou hast loved me." "Neither pray I for 
these alone, but for them also vvhich shall be- 
lieve on me through their word"; "that they 
might have my joy or peace fulfilled in them- 
selves." " I am victor over death and the grave, 
giving resurrection unto life eternal," and spir- 
itual happiness for time also ; victor o'er the 
death-like bands of sin which would crush every 
hope of the heart ! — the proffered " Peace-giv- 
ing Document " being signed, as it were, " I," 
meaning, "It is /, be not afraid." "/ have 
loved you with an everlasting love." "/and 
my Father are one." "/ will never leave thee 



"honest" use of god's own day 33 

nor forsake thee.'* "/ will not leave you com- 
fortless." "/ am the Alpha and the Omega." 
"/ have finished the work which my Father gave 
me to do," "It is finished! " — now ! do ye all 
this, " in remembrance of me," viz., partake of 
the Holy Supper of your Lord and Master — of 
"my broken body and shed blood, which was 
shed for you, and broken for the remission of 
sin." "/ loved you when you were dead in tres- 
passes and sins." 

Again: "/ and my Father are one"; "/ 
speak the words which are spirit or life": 
Reader, behold in the last two sentences an as- 
sertion, which, as I understand it, shows the 
"Trinity" or Triune God, "Father, Son, Spirit" 
In view of the "precious assurances" in the 
foregoing Document signed by Christ in per- 
son, "/," do we not feel to exclaim : " Rejoice 
in the Lord alway, and again I say rejoice." 
" Neither murmur ye, for consider what great 
things He hath done for you." 

I indulge the bright hope that the following 
"reproach" may never be ours (Deut. xxviii. 
47): "Because thou servedst not the Lord thy 
God with gladness of heart for the abundance 
of all things ; therefore shalt thou serve thine 
enemies which the Lord shall send against 
thee, in hunger and in thirst," etc.; "this enemy 
shall not regard the old nor favour the young, 
but he shall put a ^yoke of iron * upon thy neck 



34 A PLEA FOR THE 

until he have destroyed thee"; "and thy life 
shall hang in doubt before thee ; and thou shalt 
fear day and night, and thou shalt have none 
assurance of thy life '* (Deut. xxviii. (i(i). Thus 
may we depict the hopelessness felt by a hypo- 
crite; "he is/' saith Job, "without hope"! 

By these facts may we understand that "out 
of Christ our God is a consuming fire." " I, 
the Lord thy God, am a jealous God": surely 
we, asking the aid of the Holy Spirit, because 
"the natural heart is at enmity against God," 
shall upon examination find ourselves desirous 
to love and willing to seek for the Triune God, 
who is vouched for in the Peace Document as 
being "altogether lovely" in attribute; unto 
whom we would devote our innate powers: God 
is " jealous " for the " love " of our hearts, hav- 
ing purchased this love by giving His Holy Son 
unto mankind in payment for this love, which 
we must surrender, and render unto him, the 
rightful Owner, because the true purchaser: 
and how abundantly hath He proven unto His 
people, during ages, both of the past and pres- 
ent, that, 

" He gives us home, health, friends, and love, 
Our mercies fall from God above ; 
Praise Him, drop anxious fear away, 
Let no dark sorrow mar His day "; 

neither mar our appreciation of such perfect 
companionship; God brings His graces down 



"honest'' use of god's own day 35 

to sense: stoops to give His word His seal which 
is to illuminate it with Spirit-life, God's own 
nature ; lighting up the entire Scriptural roadway 
that we may see, " arise arid go to our Father," 
and that by climbing up we may get a firm foot- 
hold on the " Rock of Ages "; having done this, 
setting ourselves at work with such "talents" 
as we possess, to erect a light-house — " for to us 
God gives the keeping of the lights along the 
shore," to illuminate our coast and shed rays of 
cheer upon the vast expanse of Life's Ocean! 
" Stop sinning, start serving." 

" Lead to the shadow of the * Rock of Ages/ 

O keep Thou me 
Safe from the arrows of the world's temptations, 

Close, close to Thee. 
There from the billows and the tempest hiding, 
Under the shelter of Thy love abiding. 
Safe in the shadow of the ' Rock of Ages,' 

Joy shall be mine." 

In life we find ^* bitterness " or anguish of 
mind, to be an extreme opposite to " joy ": and 
how must it be with "no touch " of God's com- 
passion within our hearts to keep us assured 
that although " tribulation " verily is ours in 
the night of sorrows, yet "joy" shall return 
unto us, to " hover" with its wings of " peace." 

'' ' No touch of God,' oh ' bitterness ' in the 
extreme "; how far from the peaceful sweetness 
is it of consecration unto God; of striving in 



36 A PLEA FOR THE 

each daily routine of life's work to draw others 
into the service of the ^^ perfect " Master. 

^^ What! no touch of God upon our thoughts, 
words, actions," goings out and comings in ? O! 
what a blank — indeed an entire lack of happi- 
ness — having, above one, a cloud of gloom 
which shutteth out the warmth and cheering 
light of the ever-needed *^ Sun of Righteous- 
ness *'! 

Joyfully exclaims Rev. T. DeWitt Talmage: 
*^ It is a grand thing to go to bed at night and 
to get up in the morning, and to do business all 
day, feeling that all is right between my heart 
and God. No accident, no sickness, no perse- 
cution, no peril, no sword, can do me any per- 
manent damage; I am a forgiven child of God, 
and He is bound to see me through; He has 
sworn He ' will see me through.* The moun- 
tains may depart, the earth may burn, the light 
of the stars may be blown out by the judgment 
hurricane, but ' life and death, things present 
and things to come, are mine.' '* 

** He leadeth me, O blessed thought, 
Oh ! words with Heavenly comfort fraught ; 
By nighty by day^ o'er troubled sea, 
'Tis His right hand that leadeth me." 

And shall our desires — in the Love-glow to 
which these assuring words give rise — be less 
fervent than those beseechings of the following 
poet: 



"honest'' use of god's own day 37 

" More holiness ^ive me, 
More strivings within ; 
More love for my Saviour, 
More hatred of sin." 

For all sin is an abomination unto Him, the 
Holy One; si7i pleaseth Him not! Consecra- 
tion is what pleaseth Him, consecration is what 
we owe unto him. 

" Confession, 
Separation, 
Cleansing, 
Consecration." 

" Oh ! help us, dear Father, to bring Thee 
Some fruit, as the proof of the love 
Our lips are so fond of repeating. 
Give courage and strength from above ! 
And spare us from hearing the sentence 
While Heaven with music is rife, 
As — slowly — the darkness o'erwhelms us. 
An empty and useless life " ! ! ! 

(May M. Anderson). 

consecration. 

*' So long as their contact with God was main- 
tained, the/<^^^r of God went wdth them in the 
face of the greatest impossibilities.'* " With God 
all things are possible." i John iv. 4: "Greater 
is he that is in vou than he that is in the 
world*'; again, '^ My statutes, which if a man 
keep, he shall live in them." Real living hath 



38 A PLEA FOR THE 

in it the element of progression; saith St. Paul, 
**I can do all things through Christ which 
strengtheneth me "; saith Christ, " Without me ye 
can do nothing,** and again, '^ Except the Lord 
build the house, they labor in vain that build 
it*': thus we see, that a child-like confidence in 
the " All-Father ** is our fortification and only 
fort. 

The following borrowed article is the produc- 
tion of another profound writer whose name I 
would be happy to classify (but I have it not) 
en groupe with those eloquent portrayers of 
truths quoted for this Plea, — names treasured 
undoubtedly also in the mind's picture-gallery, 
of many of this century's most scholarly schol- 
ars: the article referred to is entitled '* The 
Bible," and is as follows: 

"The Bible." 

"O, friends! if there is one ^ great' thing in 
this world, it is the Bible of God; great in 
origin, great in thought, great in promise, great 
in beauty, great in purpose, great in power, 
great in its results; it hangs as by a golden 
cord, from the throne of the Highest, and all 
Heaven's light, life, love, and sweetness comes 
down in it for us! It hangs there like a celestial 
harp, the daughters of sorrow tune it, and 
awake a strain of consolation. The hand of 
Joy strikes it, and it feels a diviner note of glad- 



honest" use of god's own day 39 

ness. The sinner comes to it, and it discourses 
to him of repentance and salvation. The Saint 
bends his ear to it, and then it talks to him of an 
Intercessor and an immortal kingdom. The 
dying man places his trembling hand on it, and 
there steal thence into his soul these words: ' Lo! 
I am with you alway, even unto the end of the 
world/ ^ When thou passest through the waters, 
they shall not overflow thee; and through the 
fires, thou shalt not be burned*; ^ Be of good 
cheer, I have overcome the world'; ^The last 
enemy that shall be destroyed is death '; ^ This 
immortal shall put on immortality, and this cor- 
ruptible shall put on incorruption, and death 
shall be swallowed up in victory! ' 

" Where is promise ? where is philosophy ? 
where is * Song ' like this ? Magnify the Word 
of God, the Bible." 

Of the written *^ Word of God ": " W econfess 
that this word of God was not sent nor deliver- 
ed by the will of man, but that ^holy men of 
God spake as they were moved by the Holy 
Ghost,' as the Apostle Peter saith. And that 
afterwards God, from a special care which He 
has for us and our salvation, commanded His 
servants, the prophets and apostles, to commit 
His revealed Word to writing; and He Himself 
wrote with His own finger the Two Tables of the 
Law; therefore, we call such v^ritings holy and 
divine Scriptures.'* 



40 A PLEA FOR THE 

Let US daily, in the spirit of profound grati- 
tude, try to attune earth's symphonies to the 
" celestial harp '' which in God's mercy is ever 
holden up, within our grasp, assuming the form 
of God's inspired Word; suspended in golden 
links, a perfect chain, from Heaven's own holy 
atmosphere, down through the chilling mists of 
sin, even unto fallen, but restored, resuscitated 
manhood for daily cheer and daily invigoration, 
which produceth a healthful rejoicing. 

" Lord Jesus ! make thyself to me 
A living, bright reality, 
More present to faith's vision keen, 
Than a/2y outward object seen ; 
More dear, more intimately nigh, 
Than e'en the sweetest earthly tie." 

In the daily struggle of our spiritual nature 
against the *^ powers of the world, the flesh, and 
the devil," let us lean, with the fullest assurance 
of God's promised help, upon the words, — 

"The soul, that on Jesus hath leaned for repose, 
I'll never, no, never, desert to his foes, (the world, 

flesh, devil). 
That soul though all hell should endeavor to shake, 
I'll never, no, never, no, never forsake." 

Oh! how firm a foundation is built for our 
faith in "His excellent word," the Holy Bible. 
** Commit thy ways " and " thoughts " also unto 
Him and "thy mind shall be established as on a 
Foundation of Rock," 



"honest" use of god's own day 41 

"Wisdom is the gift of God "; " let him that 
lacketh wisdom, ask of God, who giveth liber- 
ally and upbraideth not." 

The following quotation, or " Combination of 
Words," appears before us, evidently encircled 
by gold, from the " Mine of Wisdom," viz.: 

"Scripture," 

" Observation " — " Reason,'* 

"Feeling." 

Shall we read of "the Living Stone" — 
^^ chosen of God and precious," — quarried by 
God before the foundations of the earth were 
laid; Rock of all Ages in reverential awe would 
I call it! The sermon referred to, "The Living 
Stone," is by the renowned Rev. Dr. R. S. Mac- 
Arthur, published in The Ch^Hstian Herald of 
December 21, 1892. We would also wish for all 
the gratification of reading " Home and the 
Bible," an article published in a book thus des- 
ignated, viz.: "Lifers Pictures, or By-gone 
Scenes Remembered," prepared for the Am. S. 
S. Union, Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, and 
Nassau Street, New York; read also in the same 
great, although small, volume, " The Rest of the 
Laboring-man." Read one of the American 
Tract Society's Tracts, D. Fanshaw, printer, 
either number 323 or number 334, — am doubtful 
which; the subject in question is, " The Bible an 
Inspired Book, proven by Six Arguments, 



42 A PLEA FOR THE 

namely, ^ Proof from Prophecy/ ' Proof from 
Miracles,' * Argument from the early spread of 
the Gospel/ ^ Harmony of the Scriptures/ 
^General scope and object of the Scriptures/ 
' Adaptation to the spiritual wants of Man/ " 

Says one David Bogue, D.D., "The New Tes- 
tament conveys more improvement to the mind 
than any other book/' — proving the assertion 
in his " Essay on the Divine Authority of the 
New Testament/' founded on John xx. 39, 
*^ These things are written, that ye may believe 
that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and 
that believing, ye may have life through His 
Name/' D. Fanshaw, printer, and published 
by the American Tract Society, No. 150 Nassau 
Street, New York. Read Tract No. 590, on 
"The Power of the Bible." Read at least a 
chapter per day (I'm sure that this is a desire 
which we have personally) of that ever-blessed 
Book, the Bible; we will read it each time, even 
as a Letter from our loving Father in Christ 
Jesus. Grasp it, we would, as the richest treas- 
ure of infinite wisdom and of infinite love — a 
treasure which in the " balance " of Heaven 
would outweigh all the books and publications 
in the universe. 

Go we would as individuals and as nations 
and prayerfully consult that unerring Chart, 
that infallible Directory, humbly trust to it and 
to our God — and never, never will we have 



*' honest'' use of god's own day 43 

reason to regret that we have been — although, 
perhaps, violently — severed from our idols, as 
thereby we may become the more firmly linked 
by the golden chain of grace unto the ^' Throne 
of the Eternal." 

Shall we neglect asserting in humility our 
God-given claim to an ownership through Christ 
in the '^ assurance'' of Xh^ Divine nature being 
restored unto man, namely, such as receive the 
Gospel embracing Jesus Christ as the only 
Saviour ? Then are we by this true and living 
faith delivered by " Him and through Him " 
from the wrath of (?^</ against us as sinners, and 
delivered from the destruction attendant upon 
sin, and have instead ^^ eternal life " conferred 
upon us. But the wrath of God abideth upon 
those who do not believe and receive the *' assur- 
ance " of the Gospel, viz., this " salvation " sent 
as a "gift," which, saith Paul the Apostle, "is 
worthy of all acceptation"; worthy also the 
rendering of a gratefully-loving service. 

A PRAYER. 

Our God, we, every person ever born, upon 
investigating truth's channels by the light of 
that "innate spark" of true wisdom which 
Thou hast ever graciously kept alive within our 
souls, find, and confess ourselves to be great 
sinners in Thine holy eyes; we repent of having 
so grieved Thy righteous love with these our 



44 A PLEA FOR THE 

sins, and would ask the strength of Thy Spirit 
— which cometh down from the Throne of 
Grace — wherewith to disentangle ourselves 
from these meshes of sin, which the Evil One 
hath cast about us, in his satanic power, because 
of man's first act of disobedience. We hear, O 
Triune God, the zephyr-like strain and " assur- 
ance " breathing upon us as we bow before the 
mercy-seat, an answer in Thine own words, 
" Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father's 
good pleasure to give you the kingdom." We 
thank Thee for our solid foundation of Hope, an 
expectancy, through Christ's atoning, redemp- 
tive power: and asking for the daily bread which 
sustaineth spiritual life, would go onward, 
bringing forth works meet for repentance — 
would start serving, would bring forth the 
fruits of lovely righteousness, that Thou mayest 
rejoice over Thy peoples, and that Thy power, 
over and above all powers, may be ever mani< 
fest in us, unto the praise of Thy great salva- 
tion, w^rought by Thy Holy Son Jesus, Saviour 
of men, for Thy creature, man. 
Amen, our Triune God, Amen. 

** Amen ! I said, when first I gave 
Myself to Christ that He might save '*; — 

that is, impart unto me the benefits to be de- 
rived from salvation. 



*' honest" use of god*s own day 45 

** And still, my tongue repeats that word 
Whene'er I call upon the Lord. 

" Amen ! the Covenant is secure ; 
In all things ordered well, and sure ; 
The ' promises ' confirmed remain, 
In Christ they're Yea ! in Him Amen. 

** * Amen ' — this is the Saviour's name, 
He is the faithful, true * Amen '; 
As He hath said, so shall it be. 
Amen to all eternity ! " 



" Pardon, acceptance, peace, and joy. 
Through Jesus' name are given ; 
He on the cross was hfted high 
That we might reign in Heaven." 

*^ Glory to God in the Highest, and on earth, 
* Peace/ good-will to men ! '' 

*' In rapturous tones that strain arose — 
And burst upon the night's repose, 
A white-winged legion from on high 
With dazzling glory filled the sky." 

A PASSING THOUGHT. 

Our Father, we thank Thee for sending Thy 
peace-giving Son into our midst, bearing from 
Thine own garden the olive-branch of peace, 
for a transplanting into the garden of our souls, 
insuring it, by Thy word of truth, against de- 
struction through the blasts and blights of 



46 A PLEA FOR THE 

the life's storms — promoting its growth unto 
bearing of blossoms and fruits of holiness, — 
namely, happiness. 

" Oh ! morn of gladness, day of joy. 
Well may thy praise our tongues employ, 
Well may we join that song of love 
First sung by myriads from above. 
When brightly dawned upon the earth 
The morning of our Saviour's birth." 

" The Prince of Peace, our Saviour, King, 
Now reigns above the skies, 
Yet brings His graces down to sense, 
Which helps our faith arise," 

" Her better portion trace." 

Rev. iv. 2, 4: " And, behold, a throne was set in 
Heaven*'; "and, behold, there was a rainbow 
round about the throne," — the throne of the great 
King of kings graciously made manifest unto 
St. John the Revelator. This throne was en- 
circled — we have been told, and are led to sup- 
pose by the words " round about '* — by a sym- 
bol of mercy, namely, a rainbow; giving 
encouragement to seek His presence and com- 
panionship — His face, evermore. 

Catching a gleam of illumination with heart, 
soul, and mind, from Heaven's own King in His 
revealed mercy, by this symbolical rainbow in 
Revelation, and by the symbol of the Paschal 
Lamb, made a verity by the death of the Prince 



"HONEST*' USE OF GOD'S OWN DAY 47 

of Peace, the only begotten Son, let us, in full 
and earnest assm-ancCy " ask, seek, find '* all the 
Bible assurances to be indeed '' aglow '' ; thus 
mercifully illuminated, for our growth in grace, 
and the knowledge which pertaineth unto the 
Triune God — realizing that verily, ^* in Christ," 
these assurances are ^^ yea, in Him amen!" In 
May of A.D. 1891, I saw recorded that our Bible 
had already been translated into two hundred 
and thirteen languages and dialects. Oh, 
friends, we all who comprise these varied 
tongues, are indeed the assured owners of a 
volume of true Wisdom, owners of a casket of 
priceless gems, which encircle "the Pearl of 
greatest price." 

We will rejoice with Rev. T. DeWitt Tal- 
mage, in being permitted the possession of not 
only a family Bible for hearth-stone counsel and 
cheer to hold in the one hand, but will rejoice 
with him also in the individual possessorshipof 
its fac-simile, with the attendant privilege of 
sharing the inexhaustible riches with all man- 
kind; aiding the beneficent and gloriously 
grand scheme of placing a copy of the Bible in 
the hand of every child in the land; and may its 
profound counsel and warnings against the use 
of wine, when it moveth itself aright (represent- 
ing intoxicating, fermented drinks), be acknowl- 
edged as wise — in connection also with all the 
wisdom found within the vast range of its in- 



48 A PLEA FOR THE 

spired books, beginning with Genesis i. i and 
ending with the closing words of Revelation; 
holding as we do this family Book in the one 
hand, while we hold in the other hand — with 
hearts aglow with the two-fold blessedness — all 
of the needed earthly good which our God 
seeth we individually need, and shall daily reap 
if we are ^^ diligent in business'* — in our calling 
— "fervent in spirit, serving the Lord/* 

During this year of our Lord 1893, also dur- 
ing life's entire campaign, O, let us have for our 
most earnest desire, that the Bible prove unto 
each of us, as Rev. T. DeWitt Talmage ex- 
presses it, " Fresher, truer, lovelier, grander, 
mightier, as we forward march, under the 
orders of the great Captain of salvation, our All 
in all; and shining in its true light that it seem 
as real as earth, and as real as life itself/' And 
with this Word for a " lamp unto our feet/' and 
for a "light unto our path," may the Ten Com- 
mandments and the Sermon on the Mount 
prove themselves indeed the two greatest 
things ever w^ritten: showing our duty to God 
with attendant assurances of reward, and show- 
ing that we are indebted to mankind to love one 
another. " Love worketh no ill to his neigh- 
bor," and is therefore called "the fulfilling of 
the law "; and may the echo of God the Father's 
voice from Mount Sinai be heard in the new 
command, "that ye love one another," which 



'' HONEST " USE OF GOD*S OWN DAY 49 

was given by God the Son, the Truth, the Life, 
the one only appointed Way, by whom we may 
obtain a companionship with the Father. 

Precious Bible! " What a treasure doth the 
Word of God afford!" 

" Food to which the world's a stranger — 
Here, my hungry soul enjoys, 
Of excess there is no danger — 
Though it fills, it never cloys. 
On a dying Christ I feed — 
He is meat and drink indeed ! " 

Oh, let us ever appreciate and hearken unto 
Christ's words, ^' This do in remembrance of 
me,'' that is, partake of the emblems of "His 
broken body and shed blood," which great 
offering was made for the saving of our souls 
alive, from the death of sin — for the saving of 
us from the miseries attendant upon the service 
of sin in this life, and the wages paid for sin in 
the Hereafter, or future state of existence. 

PRECIOUS BIBLE ! WORD OF CONSOLATION. 

'* In the hour of dark temptation 
Satan cannot make me yield, 
For this word of consolation 
Is to me a mighty shield. 
While the Scripture truths are sure, 
From his malice I'm secure ; 
Vain his threats to overcome me, 
Satan trembles at the Word ; 



50 A PLEA FOR THE 

'Tis a sword, for conquest made — 
Keen the edge, and strong the blade." 

"Shall I envy, then, the miser, 
Doting on his golden store ? 
Sure I am, or should be, wiser ; 
I am rich — 'tis he is poor ; 
Jesus gives me in His Word — 
Food and medicine, shield and sword." 



" The mercy of the Lord hath no end, but is re- 
newed every morning, and great is His faithful- 
ness " (Lam. iii. 22, 23). "Who is hethatsaith, 
and it cometh to pass, when the Lord com- 
mandeth it not" (verse 37). 

** Without me ye can do nothing/' saith the 
Christ. 

Isa. xl. 8: "The grass withereth, [meaning all' 
Nature], the flower fadeth; but the word oi our 
God shall stand forever." 

Isa. xl. 5: "And the glory of the Lord shall 
be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together; 
for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it." 

Isa. Iv. 3: "Incline your ear, saith my God, 
and come unto me and your soul shall live." 
Verse 6: "Seek ye the Lord while He may be 
found." Verses 8-13 inclusive: " The happy 
success of them that believe "; " Except the Lord 
build the house they labor in vain that build 
it." 

Rev. Henry Ward Beecher, "On the Bible": 



*' HONEST** USE OF GOD*S OWN DAY 5 1 

"I do not believe/' writes he, "there is in the 
compass of human literature a book that deals 
with such profound topics; that touches human 
nature on so many sides of experience; that re- 
lates so especially to its sorrows, its temptations, 
and yet, looks over the whole field of human 
life with such cheerfulness of spirit "; " the New 
Testament is a book of radiant joy.'* 

Most heartily, indeed, may we rejoice with 
these men of divine culture and high literary 
attainments over the veritable reality of this 
great treasure-house, /. ^., the Bible, wherein are 
stored to repletion gems indestructible, for per- 
sons of varied ages, viz. : Christ blessing infants, 
with an acceptance in the covenant of baptism; 
calling older children, also, unto Him for the 
purpose of laying His hands upon them in bless- 
ing; blessing men and women with the cove- 
nant of the Lord's Supper sacrament. Hear also 
the hope-giving words, " I, the Lord thy God, 
have called thee in righteousness, and will hold 
thy hand, and will keep thee "; " be not afraid." 

" E'en down to old age, all my people shall prove. 
My righteous, eternal, unchangeable Love." 

In the great treasure-house, namely, the Bible, 
are stored not gems alone, but crystals too, 
transparent with Hope's cheer — perfect in their 
power to dispel gloom from the most heavily 
laden heart, of either the beggar at the door 



52 A PLEA FOR THE 

asking bread or a pittance — or the thought- 
laden heart or mind of the king on the stateliest 
of earthly thrones; thirdly, gems also which are 
lustrous with needed wisdom for every kingly 
crown, which even the wisest among the rulers 
may feel to rejoice at being possessors of. 

Oh! the depth of joy that may be found in the 
prospective, as well as in the realization of the 
fact, of these treasures being within easy access 
of applicants in each and every phase of life in 
this God-blessed land, and through the mission- 
ary instrumentality of Christ's disciples, the 
same wealth of happiness has been, or shall be, 
accorded each and every land under God's sun 
— the luminary of nature's day— -and through 
God's Son, the Luminary of Heaven and of all 
that is Heavenly; for so hath God declared! 

Shall we, then, such highly favored mortals, 
as we most certainly must, acknowledge our- 
selves to be living, too, under the promise of be- 
ing endowed with immortality in the eternal 
world, — having reached or mayhap verging 
upon such noble stature of manhood or woman- 
hood, — shall we allow the selfish desire a place 
in our hearts, that of monopolizing any one of 
God's holy days by frivolity? — which always 
floweth as a channel through the Sunday recre- 
ations, which are planned by human minds for 
humanity's adaptability, when on the other 
hand ample proof is given that God's appointed 



>> TTr>,-r-. ^-r-. ^^T^^ 



" HONEST USE OF GOD S OWN DAY 53 

way for Sabbath recreation is the right, the 
only safe way, being in its every tendency 
simply right; a rendering unto God what in 
the light of honesty is diie Him; also a render- 
ing unto man and beast a renewal of all such 
powers as God in His generosity has invested 
them with; for man's happiness; for the com- 
fort of the dumb creatures; and unto the world- 
wide and eternal glory and praise of the Maker 
and loving Benefactor of all ! 

Methinks, the oldest among us will admit 
that we lack that '^ fulness of wisdom " such as 
our Heavenly Father possesseth. 

We would not lose sight of the bountiful 
benefaction of each of the six consecutive days, 
vouchsafed more than fifty times annually, for a 
participation in the engaging of secular and 
social life, restricted only by laws from God, 
which same laws are for our highest interests, 
both for time and forevermore; and I earnestly 
wish, that each employee in the civilized world 
— elsewhere the hope would prove vain indeed 
— be granted and awarded a half-holiday, on 
that day which best suits — whichever day of the 
sixth proves to be the most conveniently proper 
one — the interests of the gigantic needs and 
proper requirements of the vast business world, 
employers planning wisely in this matter. 
Remembering, ^^ As ye would that men should 
do unto you, do ye also unto them likewise." 



54 A PLEA FOR THE 

Christ's rule, which is truly ^^ golden/' having 
the ring of the pure reliable metal; then comes 
chiming in from Obadiah in the words of earlier 
ages — verse fifteen, "As thou hast done, it shall 
be done unto thee; thy reward shall return upon 
thine own head." In the spirit of true brother- 
hood, for humanity's sake, would we sanction 
the weekly half- holiday, for the joy of those 
who build our houses, etc., etc.; then Sabbath 
hours, possibly, will not be so secularized. 
May we in every particular be willing to " sow 
to the Spirit," resting assured that life eternal 
are its promised fruits. 

May praises roll from the lips of all the honor- 
able the world over, to the memory of Col. Elliott 
Fitch Shepard, for his love of the Holy Sabbath 
— who embraced it in its original infatuating 
fulness and all-sustaining vitality. " Keep my 
statutes, commandments, and judgments, which 
if a man do, he shall live in them"; and thus 
also saith God, "Whosoever honoreth me, will 
I honor." 

Quotation from The Christian Herald^ from 
the pen of the renowned Mrs. M. Baxter, who 
so irradiates our Sunday-school Lessons in this 
popular weekly journal, asfoUows: "Itbehooves 
those who have the honor of God at heart, to 
witness strictly against the Sabbath desecration 
around us ; neither buying, travelling, nor 
working on God's Holy Day; but bearing wit- 



*' honest'' use of god's own day 55 

ness that we appreciate His gift to us. At the 
same time let us learn the lesson of inward 
Sabbath rest, of that real faith in our God 
which leaves us undisturbed by all and every- 
thing which He in His love and wisdom per- 
mits; a rest which gives God room to work, 
brings power into our lives." 

" The keeping of the Sabbath was God's first 
command, and in the first place it was a gift, 
before it became a command; God blessed the 
seventh day and hallowed it (Gen. ii. 3). ^ The 
Lord hath given you the Sabbath.' God rested 
from His works on the Sabbath day, and it is 
the desire of His heart that His people shall 
learn to 'enter into His rest,' and understand 
him. Rest and faith, which are intrinsically the 
same, come from fully appreciating God. 

'^ Sabbath desecration is always increasing in 
our land, and it is surely ripening it for coming 
judgment. With the decline in the public recog- 
nition of God, has come idolatry of money and 
national selfishness. A land which lets go her 
Bible, and her Sabbath day, and whose very 
spiritual leaders advocate amusements on the 
Sabbath, must of necessity soon lose all of the 
back-bone of self-denial which makes a nation 
great and powerful." 

Being the Lord's day, naturally we would 
say, devote it to His honor; to the fulfillment of 
His expressed wishes and glorious plans; devote 



56 A PLEA FOR THE 

it unto that which would best please this, our 
generous Benefactor — the All-wise One, the 
Omnipotent One, the only Saviour, the Triune 
God. 

" Thy goodness, Lord, our souls confess." 

We find that Moses, David, Isaiah, Jeremiah, 
Ezekiel, also New Testament advocates and 
disciples unto truth and righteousness, fre- 
quently admonished the people as to the sanc- 
tity of the Sabbath. Shall we make ^^ the fear 
of the Lord " a ruling power of joy within us, 
which leadeth unto joys eternal ? If we desire 
this ever-abiding joy, then we will make no at- 
tempt to disannul the perfect laws of the Holy 
Law-giver. 

" Sow unto, and reap of, the Spirit." 

Malachi (messenger of Jehovah) represents 
Jehovah as the loving Father and Ruler of His 
people — thus saith this same Prophet: *^ Then 
they that feared the Lord spake often one to 
another; and, the Lord hearkened, and heard it, 
and a book of remembrance was written before 
Him, for them that feared the Lord, and thought 
upon His name.'* ^* And they shall be mine, 
saith the Lord of hosts, in that day when I make 
up my jewels"; methinks jewels for His crown 
of rejoicing, because the Word announces that 
^^ there is joy in Heaven over one sinner that 



'' HONEST '' USE OF GOD'S OWN DAY 57 

repenteth '*; then, how vastly great will be the 
rejoicings over multitudes of repenting ones 
who, having sought for the Father, found Him 
even unto the joy of their souls forevermore. 
Returning to the completion of God's message 
through Malachi, we read: ^^ And I will spare 
them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth 
him." You will remember our having, a 
moment ago, read this quotation, namely, " The 
Lord hearkened, and heard"; this assurance 
unto mankind, from the Lord through His mes- 
senger, Malachi. 

A similar assurance unto mankind, was sent by 
the Lord through His messenger Moses, — name- 
ly, " Your murmurings are heard of the Lord; 
your murmurings are not against us, say Moses 
and Aaron, but against the Lord " (Ex. xvi. 7). 
Said Christ, '' The servant is not greater than his 
lord or master "; the words, " against the Lord," 
spoken by His servants Moses and Aaron unto 
the people at the time of this their chiding, bear 
testimony with Christ's words as to who is the 
rightful Dictator or Ruler. 

Christ, our authoritative Exemplar, resorted 
to the temple on the Sabbath day, as was His 
custom. Christ wrought works of mercy upon 
the souls and bodies of men and the lower 
creatures on the Sabbath — taking care that they 
suffered not. Christ did the Father's work of 
love unto all living things; herein, God's mani- 



58 A PLEA FOR THE 

fest benevolence inspires admiration, surely, 
and cherishing this inspired feeling, may 
thoughts devout picture upon heart and mind 
the perfection of God's righteousness, who says, 
" In such things I delight, saith the Lord," in 
being right through and through — the posses- 
sion of which attributes, makes radiant the per- 
fection of His character. 

O ! soul-cheering thought, that our perfect 
God and Benefactor saith unto us personally, 
" I have loved you with an everlasting love; 
continue ye in my love "; " henceforth I call you 
friends." " If ye love me, keep my command- 
ments/' ^'I am that bread which cometh down 
from Heaven, v/hich if a man eat, he shall never 
die." ^' I am the bread of life," — the water of 
life: "Whosoever will, let him take from the 
fountain of life freely." " Draw living waters 
from salvation's well, which if a man drink, he 
shall never be athirst." The only water which 
can quench the thirst attendant upon the sin- 
fever having for its subjects, mankind. 

Feeling refreshed, through mingling with 
these soul-cheering associations with which the 
Word of God abounds, let us become ^'Jixed** 
in our determination to ^^ abound in every good 
word and work unto the daily praise of the 
Lord of Sabbaoth." Let us refrain from cater- 
ing to the lesser self on His day of divine glory, 
and aim with diligence to have spiritual feast- 



HONEST USE OF GOD S OWN DAY 59 

ing paramount to the luxurious self-indulgence, 
which lures only into dangerous by-paths, off 
from the safe Highway of the Sabbath which is 
guarded by the w^ell-equipped forces of the 
King of kings, under w^hose marching orders 
we are proceeding, happy possessors of souls 
redeemed from dangers "seen and unseen"; 
the happy possessors in the prospectus of that 
which " eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither 
hath it entered into the heart of man to con- 
ceive," that happiness which is laid up in store 
by Him who in Fatherly love hath said, " Keep 
thine heart with all diligence, for out of it are 
the issues of life"; by Him who would have us 
cultivate daily the excellences which He hath 
planted within us, namely. Faith, Hope, Char- 
ity, for without warm feelings in the hearty re- 
ligion is not religion, but simply as "sounding 
brass, or a tinkling cymbal," " even though," 
saith St. Paul, " we were to speak with the 
tongues of men and of angels." Furthermore, 
let us become fixed in our determination simply 
to have our Sabbath table repasts substantial, 
that is, attended by as little care as is possible; 
the laborious part having been accomplished 
on the day previous, viz., Saturday; which 
latter-named day necessarily needs be for cook- 
ing and promiscuous minor adjustments (Ex. 
xvi. 23, 24). And aside to housekeeper friends, 
would say, can we not, my sisters, through dili- 



6o A PLEA FOR THE 

gence, because of the mercies of God to us and 
ours, master all the bulk of household require- 
ments before our " preparation-day '* (Saturday) 
come, wherein we desire to provide for the com- 
forts of the body for each series of Sabbath 
hours in advance of their dawn ? I hear you 
respond willingly to this suggestion, because of 
your grateful appreciation of the great Cre- 
ator's beneficence in giving six consecutive days 
for the more material business of life; and we 
will joy also in bringing within the grasp of 
childhood's mind this manifest generosity, hop- 
ing it may, early in life, put to flight their every 
feeling of discontent at surrendering our Bene- 
factor's holy hours unto their legitimate 
uses. 

We older, and consequently more heavily in- 
debted recipients, feel to acknowledge that 
these holy hours are not a season for frivolity, 
for that would be contrary to Bible doctrine — 
contrary to the truths of Scriptural wisdom, 
which dictates that this should be kept a season 
of honest spiritual joy; a season of refreshment 
for the body, through the channel of relaxation 
from business cares, both for the housewife and 
domestic staff of helpers, and abroad in the in- 
dustrial world for the father — bread provider, 
cash earner; and we repairing to the house of 
our reconciled Heavenly Father, the great Pro- 
ducer of all food, and also the Provider of 



'' HONEST '' USE OF GOD's OWN DAY 6l 

heavenly food — would, soliciting His approval 
and under His promised blessing, abide by His 
righteous restrictions, which He laid down em- 
phatically for the rendering *^ glorious ** of His, 
the Lord's Day: we thereby insuring clear 
sailing into the peace-giving harbor of the 
King of the universe, at the closing of each 
week, where in Sabbath habiliment, 

" Heaven comes down our souls to greet ": 

First, giving us the passport for Faith's en- 
trance into Sunday's holy atmosphere of joy, 
thanksgiving, and adoration — awarding, too, 
the Christ-procured privilege of presenting 
solicitations for our every need. 

Secondly, where is given us, "for Christ's 
sake," the realization that " glory " does verily 
" crown the mercy-seat." 

Thirdly, giving us, also, the "foreshadowing 
of the dawn of an eternal Sabbath," where the 
character of our Triune God will be fully " be- 
held " and appreciated, for no clouds of misty 
doubt will ever mar the happy companionship; 
therefore this " Eternity " will be needed where- 
in to render the praise and adoration due unto 
"Jesus, lover of our souls," — unto God, the per- 
sonification of love; unto the Spirit divine, our 
warning, guiding, all-sustaining " Light." 

The renowned John Hall says, " He who 
would estimate sin aright, must study God's 



OJ A ri VA FOR THF 

lu^linoss; and ho who thiinks justly of sin, ap- 
prociates the Saviour." 

Again, by *• repairing unto, by the frequent- 
ing of the house* of our reconciled lUwvenly 
Father/' will our spiritual nature, whieh is 
termed the nobler element of man, be buoyed 
up by the Spirit of Christ, who will give unto 
those who ask in faith, the anchor of hope, to 
use on life's tempestuous sea: this "anchor** I 
would compare to spiritual food and drink, of 
\Yhich we — meaning every person — daily stand 
in need. Without /?, we are leading a life of star- 
vation, instead of partaking of that nectar of 
life which the one only true God holds out 
for individual acceptance; viz., the all-stistain- 
ing peace flowing from a sense of full " restora- 
tion " to the favor of our Maker — God, Sustainer, 
Benefactor, through the " shedding of the prec-- 
ious blood of Jesus/* the idealized Paschal 
Lamb, for the remission of all acknowledged 
sin, actual and original, of commission and 
omission. 

** Sin no more. 

Thy soul is free, 
Christ has died to ransom thee ; 
Now the pint'<rr of sin is eVr. 
Jesus bids thee — Sin no more ! 

Sin no more. 

His blood hath bought. 
Think on what His love hath wrought. 



"HONEST** USE OF GOD'S OWN DAY 63 

Sin no more, 

O sin no more, 
Jesus lives to keep thee pure, 

If o'ertaken 

He'll restore, 
Saying, 'Go and sin no more.'" 

(Gospel Hymns, No. 6, C. E. edition.) 

*' Take time to be holy, 
Speak oft with thy Lord — 
Abide in Him always 
And feed on His word ; 
Make friends of God's children. 
Help those who are weak, 
Forgetting in nothing His blessing to seek. 

** Take time to be holy, 
Be calm in thy soul. 
Each thought and each motive 
Beneath His control ; 
Thus led by His Spirit 
To fountains of love, 
Thou soon shall be fitted 
For service above." 

*' The chief end of man is to glorify God and 
enjoy Him forever " (Catechism). 

" I will remember the years of the right hand 
of the Most High " (Psa. Ixvii. 10). ''So teach 
us to number our days, that we may apply our 
hearts unto wisdom " (Scripture). 

I will remember His years, and will also re- 
member Him, as being the Source of foun- 



k 



64 A PLEA FOR THE 

tains of love, the world of mankind being there- 
with blessed through His bestowment of the 
same; which fountains exhilarate by their cool- 
ing atmosphere, both (weary) saint and sinner 
— gladdening, too, the eye by reflections from 
the Sun of Righteousness of the beautifully pure 
character of Christ, the Holy One, — of Jesus, 
whom, knowing perfectly the direful depths of 
the darkness which sin imposeth, and the attend- 
ant sadness, — sympathizeth with all sinners, 
holding out unto them the hand of friendship, 
love, truth, for their help and acceptance. Some 
poet has designated the proffered gifts of friend- 
ship love, truth, thus: 

" Three rays of Light from Heaven's throne." 

Annexed we have a beauteous strain, originally 
sung, it is said, by one De Cobain: 

"Strain." 

" Iv'e found a Friend in Jesus, He's everything to me ; 
He's the fairest of ten thousand to my soul ! 
The ' Lily of the Valley ' in Him alone I see 
All I need to cleanse and make me fully whole. 

*' In sorrow He's my comfort, in trouble He's my stay — 
He tells me every care on Him to roll ; 
He's the * Lily of the Valley,' the bright and morning 
Star : 
He's the fairest often thousand to my soul." 



" HONEST " USE OF GOD'S OWN DAY 65 

Gospel Hymn 224. 

" I've found a Friend ; oh, such a Friend, 

He loved me ere I knew Him ; 
He drew me with the cords of love, 

And thus, He bound me to Him ; 
And round my heart still closely twine 

Those ties which naught can sever, 
For I am His, and He is mme, 

Forever and forever ! " 

" One little word for Jesus ; 
O speak, or sing or pray." 

Luke vi. 47, 48: "Whosoever (saith Jesus) 
Cometh unto me, and heareth my sayings, and 
doeth them, I will shew you to whom he is like; 
he is like a man which built a house and digged 
deep, and laid the foundation on a rock ; and 
when the flood arose, the stream beat vehe- 
mently upon that house and could not shake it, 
for it was founded upon a Rock," — eternal, and 
not upon the "shifting sands of time/' 

Our loving Triune God, we, individually, 
come before Thy mercy-seat, blood-bought for 
us, and pedestaled on the Rock of Ages; we 
come, thus happily privileged, praying for our- 
selves — Jesus ever making intercession — pray- 
ing for all dear to us by family ties; for man- 
kind in general; for our nation; for the rulers 
of all nations, and for us as parents, teachers, 
and all in authority, — asking of Thee, in Thine 



66 A PLEA FOR THE 

own words: "Our Father who art in Heaven, 
hallowed be Thy Name; Thy kingdom come; 
Thy will be done upon earth as it is in heaven; 
give us this day our daily bread; forgive us 
our debts, as we forgive our debtors; And lead 
us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: 
for Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and 
the glory forever and ever. Amen/' 

"Teach us to so number our days that we 
may apply our hearts unto wisdom." And may 
we hearken unto the message of Ezekiel xviii. 
20, which soundeth forth the words, " The 
righteousness of the righteous shall be upon 
himself; and the wickedness of the wicked shall 
be upon himself.*' Ezekiel xviii. 21: "But, if 
the wicked shall turn from all his sins that he 
hath committed, and keep all my statutes, and 
that which is lawful and right, he shall surely 
live, he shall not die; all his transgressions that 
he hath committed, they shall not be mentioned 
unto him.'' 

Behold with me, dear reader, the loveliness 
pervading the sentiment of the Scriptural quo- 
tation which we have just read — " not mentioned 
unto him " — no upbraidings in store for the 
"returned prodigal "; but we find in store, sym- 
pathy, in its height, depth, length, and breadth: 
we "will arise and go unto the Father." 

The edict, " choose ye," gives strong inference 
of the privilege of free-will action; we know the 



" HONEST '' USE OF GOD^S OWN DAY 6/ 

wages which sin offereth are death, in every 
sense of the word. 

We will turn to David's Song of Thanksgiving 
(i Chron. xvi. 7); in this same chapter we find 
that King David ordereth a choir to sing 
thanksgiving. Surely, '' the Lord pitieth His 
children in their every conflict and delivereth 
them if they walk in His admonition '*; our part 
is to give heed unto His voice, to obey it. " All 
things work together for the good of those who 
love God ''; our part and privilege is to love Him. 

"Start serving." Resist the will to sin. 
"Stop sinning." "With God, go even to sea; 
without God, go not over the threshold." 

" My God, my Life, my Love, 

To Thee, to Thee I call — 
I cannot live if Thou remove, 

For Thou art * all in all ' ! 
Not all the harps above 

Can make an heavenly place 
If God His residence remove. 

Or but conceal His face." 

" Come near me, O my Saviour, 
Thy tenderness reveal : 
Oh, let me know the sympathy 
Which Thou for me dost feel." 

" I need Thee ever}' hour (moment) 
Thine absence brings dismay ; 
But when the tempter hurls his darts 
'Twere death with Thee away." 



68 . A PLEA FOR THE 

Thou— the Christ — art the hope of earth, and 
the joy of Heaven. "We need Christ in our 
heart and in our life." 

*' O safe to the Rock that is higher than I, 
My soul in its conflicts and sorrows would fly : 
So sinful, so weary, Thine, Thine would I be ; 
Thou blest Rock of Ages, I'm hiding in Thee." 

(Gospel Hymn 232.) 

Psa. xxxi 2: "My strong Rock for a house of 
defense." Psa. cxxvii. i: "Except the Lord 
build the house, they labor in vain that build 
It" 

" What a Friend we have in Jesus, 
All our sins and griefs to bear ; 
What a privilege to carry 

Everything to God in prayer. 
Oh, what peace we often forfeit ! 

Oh, what needless pain we bear ! — 
All because we do not carry 
Everything to God in prayer.*' 

(Gospel Hymn 29.) 

" True prayer is asking God for what we 
need; it should be humble, with confession of 
sin; it should plead God's promises, and should 
abound in praise.*' " For consider what great 
things He hath done for us." Psa. iv. 17: 
" Evening, morning, and at noon will I pray." 

It has been well vouched for, and I think will 
not be gainsaid, that words expressive of truest 



'' HONEST USE OF GOD S OWN DAY 6g 

friendship unto bride and groom, the world 
over, are, *^ We wish for you that you daily pray 
together, reaping the attendant fullness of 
reward/' 

And O ! that precious foundation upon which 
to build our highest hopes, — viz., an Holy Sab- 
bath, — we all find, that, genuine morality hath 
it for foundation; even the same as hath genu- 
ine politeness, for foundation, viz., kindly feel- 
ings, or charity. 

Dear reader, shall we hasten on, to the gather- 
ing in of many Scriptural references; to a gather- 
ing up, also, of the Pleas and Leaflets which 
have floated through Time's spiritual atmos- 
phere, imparting exhilaration ecstatic — bearing, 
as they do, incense unto Nature's God; fruits 
are they of grateful homage unto the Lord, high 
over all, and for the promulgation of His 
honor; for a testimony unto the sanctity of the 
Lord's Day and for practical use thereon. 

SCRIPTURE. 

Gen. i. 31; Gen. ii. 1-4; Ex. xvi. 11-34; Ex. 
XX. 8-1 1 ; Ex. xxiv. 16; Ex. xxxi. 12-18; Ex. 
xxxiii. 9, 12-15; Ex. xxxiv. 21 (also the preceding 
twenty verses); Ex. xxxv. 1-5; Lev. xix. T-4, 30; 
Lev. xxiii. 3; Lev. xxv. 17-22; Lev. xxvi. 2-46; 
Num. XV. 32-36; Deut. v. 12-15; Deut. xvi. 8th 
verse, the last clause; Neh. ix. 4-15; Neh. xiii. 
15-22; Psa. 1.; Psa. xcii.; Isa. i. 19, 20; Isa. li. 



yo *' HONEST '* USE OF GOD*S OWN DAY 

i-i6; Isa. Ivi. 2-8; Isa. Iviii. 13-14; Isa. Ixvi. i, 
2, 5, 9, 10, 12, 13, 14; Jer. xvii. 5-15, 19-27; Eze. 
xlvi. I, 3, 12; Amos. viii. 5, ii, 12; Mai. iii. 16, 
17; Matt. xii. 1-13,50; Matt, xxviii, 1-20; Matt, 
ix. 15; Mark ii. 27, 28; Luke xiii. 10--17; John 
V. 1-29; Acts xi. 23; Acts XV. 21. 

Warnings and reminders from Christ's lips: 
Luke iv. 1-18; Luke xxii. 39, 40, 41; The Gen- 
eral Epistle of James, i. 12-25. 

"By the mercies of God," said St. Paul in 
Romans xii. i. 

An earnest Psalm of Thanksgiving, 2 Sam. 
xxii., by " King David." 

NUMBERS OF TRACTS. 

No. 8, 18, 187, 336, 34, 

No. 20, 37, 116, 191, 311, 

No. 334, 352, 415, 502, 595, 

etc., etc. 



FINIS. 

A PERSONAL REQUEST. 

In closing, I would humbly solicit indulgence 
from all who peruse the foregoing *^ Conversa- 
tional Plea/' hoping merely that its borrowed 
ideal phrases and original paragraphs may add 
impetus to the stupendously great "Theme," 
that of keeping each Lord's Day holy unto an 
honest praise, and to the glory of Jehovah, who 
appointed it, at the dawn of Time, in love, as 
one of life's necessities, for the use of the 
masterpiece of His creative works, viz., man- 
kind, and as a forecast of the Eternal Sabbath 
Rest. 

And still buoyed up by hope in Christ, who 
is the Redemptive Power and Restorer, would 
wish for my " blade of straw in the current," 
overshadowed as it can but be by the " majestic 
fleet" in whose "wake" it has ventured unso- 
licited, — that it may pick up some jewel (a soul) 
for the crown of our Holy King Emmanuel, 
along the " shores of Time," bearing it unto its 
Owner, the Triune God; with reverence casting 
anchor, through faith in Scriptural truths, in 
" the Holy Sea of Glass " which God revealed 
in love for all nations and tongues, unto St. 
John the divine Revelator, by whom we are as- 
sured that it lieth within the realm of perfect 

(71) 



^2 FINIS. 

bliss before the Great White Throne of Him, 
the personification of holiness, ^^ God in Three 
Persons, glorious Trinity," from whom alone 
Cometh true happiness, through His dwelling 
within us, — and in whose service alone may be 
found the refreshment of true felicity, of true 
rest for heart, soul, mind; and of whom we 
would acquire the ^* art " of ^* meekness and 
lowliness of heart,'' which, if we cultivate *' In 
His Name " and " For His Sake," in the spirit 
of gratitude, will bring *^rest unto the soul," 
saith the All-wise Teacher. 

*^ Every good and every perfect gift cometh 
down from above, from the Father of Lights, 
with whom is no variableness, neither shadow 
of turning." 

Psa. Ixvii. 8, 9: ^^ Bless our God, ye people, 
and make the voice of His praise to be heard, 
which holdeth our soul in life, and sufEereth not 
our feet to be moved." 

" Talk ye of all His wondrous works." 

" He rules the world with truth and grace, 
And makes the nations prove 
The glories of His righteousness, 
And wonders of His love. 

" Let naen their songs employ ; 
While fields and floods, 
Rocks, hills, and plain 
Repeat the sounding joy." 



